


First Date

by LightandLife123



Series: The Ruewen Chronicals [3]
Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24518524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightandLife123/pseuds/LightandLife123
Summary: Edaline and Grady go on their first official date.
Relationships: Edaline Ruewen/Grady Ruewen
Series: The Ruewen Chronicals [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768045
Kudos: 3





	First Date

Grady took a deep breath before he got ready to step into the light from his pathfinder. He hadn’t seen Edaline for 10 days, and now he was supposed to show up on her doorstep and take her on a date. He had been waiting for this moment since he said goodbye to her outside of the Wayward pub, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Edaline had turned his life completely upside down, and he was still trying to figure out how he felt about it. When she had walked into the alcove at her Winnowing Gala, Grady could have sworn her had never seen anyone that beautiful. The way the dim light had caught the highlights in her auburn hair and the perfect quirk of her mouth when she smiled left him breathless. He had been so close to asking her to dance, but she had made it pretty clear she was planning on coming out of her Winnowing Gala without a boyfriend. He had tried to push her to the back of his mind, but when he ran into her on the street of Eternalia it felt like fate. That was before he got to know her. 

Spending time with her over the past few months had shown him that no girl he had met was her equal. She was smart, unfailing kind, always willing to laugh at his jokes, and she never took herself too seriously. She was supportive, enthusiastic, and she had a way of bringing people together and being the glue that kept the group from falling apart. She was a master at mediating conflicts and getting people to agree to a compromise. In short, he was pretty sure she was it for him. Any girl he met after this moment would be compared to her in his mind. That’s what made him so nervous. He knew he was willing to throw out every plan he had made about his future and rewrite it with her, but he wasn’t sure if she was on the same page. He was just going to have to keep it cool and casual and hope that he could eventually win her over. 

When Grady arrived at the house Edaline lived at with two of her best friends, he was a little surprised to see her sitting on the porch waiting for him. She was wearing a beautiful turquoise day dress the exact same color as her eyes and a silver cape that shone in the sunlight. He wanted to run up to her and hug her, but he was pretty sure they weren’t on that level yet. She jumped to her feet the second she saw him. 

“Hey! I thought I’d wait out here to avoid my annoying roommates. They were pestering me with 1000 questions even though I told them so many times I had no clue what you had planned.” 

“I’m glad it’s still a secret! I was scared Alden was going to tell Adrenia and ruin everything.” They had been walking towards each other and now he was so close he could count her eyelashes. How was it possible to be so beautiful? He couldn’t help it; he grabbed her hand. 

“Hey.” 

“Hey.” She replied back, smirking slightly and staring up at him. “How was your assignment?” 

“Long.” He answered truthfully. “I’ve never been more ready to come home. I was basically counting the days.” Then, he felt himself bush. Keep it casual! He reminded himself. If he came on too strong, he was sure she was going to start running in the other direction. Edaline looked like she was getting ready to say something, but he was scared of what it was so he rushed to say. “You ready? We should get going or we’re going to be late!” 

“I’ve been ready for days.” Edaline said eagerly. Grady’s heart fluttered a little at this. 

“Here.” He said, taking off his thick black cape. “When we first leap it’s going to be a little cold, but it will warm up really soon.” He wrapped the cape around Edaline’s shoulders. 

“Ok.” She replied. “Now I’m very intrigued. I should have known that this wouldn’t be an average date. With you there’s never a dull moment.”   
“That’s the goal.” Grady said as he grabbed her hand to light leap them away. 

The wind wiped viciously when they arrived on the side of the mountain and their feet sunk deep into the snow. Still holding Edaline’s hand, Grady started to trudge forward trying to keep moving before the shivering set in. 

“I know this looks like the start of the worst date of all time, but I promise it’ll be worth it.” He said looking back at her.   
She smiled, snowflakes sticking to her hair. “I trust you.” And suddenly Grady felt incredibly warm despite the below freezing temperature. 

As they came over the hill and the huge wall and gates came into view, Edaline gasped and her grip on Grady’s hand tightened. “Are we where we think I think we are? Are we going on a tour of the Sanctuary!?” 

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Grady replied and Edaline let out a little excited squeak. Coming through the doors of the sanctuary brought some much needed relief from the cold, and they both began dusting off the snow that clung to their clothes. 

“Hey Grady, how are you?” A tall elf with jet black hair called out. 

“I’m good, Jorn! Thank you so much for helping arrange this.”

“No problem! Anytime.” He approached and Grady introduced him to Edaline. “It’s so nice to meet you. I hope you two have a nice day. Let me know if you need anything or have any questions. I’ll be in my office.” 

“Thanks, Jorn!” Grady was still waving when Edaline whispered. 

“Wait. Did he just give us free reign of the sanctuary? I thought you had been able to add us onto one of those rare tours they do for the nobility.” 

Grady bit his lip feeling a little nervous. “Um, I could go ask him if he could spare one of the workers to show us around and answer any questions you have if you want a legit tour.”   
“What? No! Being able to freely wander around The Sanctuary sounds like a dream. This is going to be the single coolest thing that has ever happened to me!” She was smiling so hard it looked like she was squinting. Grady relaxed. 

“Oh good because I thought it would be way more fun to adventure on our own. What do you want to see first?” 

“Can we pet the unicorns?”

“Oh course! And he led her down the hill in the direction of where the unicorn herd usually hung out.” 

After a few steps Edaline asked, “Grady, how did you pull this off? The Council is so protective of the sanctuary.” 

“I pulled in a few stings and called in several favors.” He replied. He wasn’t sure if he should be mysterious. Girls liked mysterious, right? Edaline, he decided, did not because she was giving him a look that told him that answer was not sufficient. 

“My family has a lot of ties to the sanctuary. My great great great great, like 10 more greats ago, grandfather, Reidar Ruewan, was one of the elf’s involved in building the sanctuary. He was a naturist. He could control the trees and make the grass grow. He was the one who designed and created most of the habitats here.” 

Edaline looked a little shocked. “Naturist are so rare. Aren’t there like only 3 of them?” 

“Something like that. And they’re all Ruewens. Anyway he actually met my great great great whatever grandmother working on the sanctuary. She is a polyglot that has a natural inclination to communicating with animals. She was here to help settle and transition them into their new homes. She would talk to the wildlife and then tell Reidar if they wanted any adjustments to their habitats.They fell in love and worked together on the sanctuary for like 1000 years and are retired now and just hang out in their house on the top of a mountain with a spectacular view.” Grady blushed. Here he was talking about 2 people falling in love in the sanctuary as they walked through the sanctuary. That was the opposite of casual. 

“So with the connections many of my family members still work here helping manage, conceal, keep track of the habitats, and organizing the workers. I was able to convince some of them to bend a few rules so we could hang out here for the day.”

“I’m really glad you did,'' Edaline said beaming. Just then, she caught sight of the herd of unicorns and she took off as fast as she could. 

The next few hours were so blissfully relaxing. They pet unicorns, feed a triceratop, rode on the back of an elephant, and watched a polar bear give birth to some cubs. The whole time they talked. The conversation flowed so easily Grady couldn’t believe that they had really only been friends for a few months. He thought during that time he had come to know her well, but he was realizing he had only scratched the surface. 

She was finishing up telling a story about an ill fated family vacation when she stopped suddenly. “Sorry if I’ve been talking too much. I feel like I’m commandeering the conversation.” 

Grady was surprised. He could listen to her talk all day. “Not at all. I love hearing you talk.” He internally cringed. Could he sound anymore sappy? But he was rewarded with one of Edaline’s dazzling smiles. 

“Thanks. I had a boyfriend for a brief period of time at Firefox who always told me I talked too much. Ever since then, I’ve been a little self conscious about it.” 

“Well, he was wrong.” Grady said firmly. He was very tempted to ask her the boy's name so he could go and have a little talk with him about hurting Edaline’s feelings. He must have looked upset because she grabbed his hand swinging it between them. 

“It doesn’t matter. But seriously I want to know about you too. You have two brothers right? Are you close to them?” 

“Actually no. The middle one tolerates me, and the oldest one pretends that I don’t exist” 

“Why is that?” Edaline asked quietly. 

“Because my parents are weirdos.” He said with a smile. “They felt like raising more than one child at a time would be too taxing, so they spaced us out. A lot. My oldest brother is 51 years older than me, and my other brother is 25 year older than me. It’s like they are just uncles or cousins or someone I only saw on holidays. They never lived in the house when I was growing up. I guess my oldest brother felt like my parents were trying to replace him when they got pregnant the second and third time. He kind of resents when my parents make him come celebrate our graduations or birthdays or whatever. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll understand if my parents have another baby. Should be anytime now if they follow their pattern.”

“Do you think they will?” 

“No, I think they’re done, but I guess they could always change their minds. I think my mom always wanted a girl.” 

This prompted Edaline to launch into a story about some distant cousins of her’s who had 5 kids because they wanted a girl,and it took them that many tries. Grady was thankful for the change in subject. 

The rest of the day passed quickly, and before Grady knew it, the sun began to set. Time for his grand finale to the date. He led Edaline up to the top of a hill with a view of the African Savannah habitat. They could see lions, cheetahs, giraffes, and gazelle all milling around together. Under the tree was a picnic laid out for them complete with elfin wine and dessert.

Edaline gasped, “Ok. How did you pull this off.” 

Grady grinned. “I begged one of my cousins and now I owe her big time.” 

“It’s amazing. This whole day has felt like a dream. I had high expectations, but I must say, you surpassed them.” That made it all worth it. Grady had been so stressed out when planning the date, but the look Edaline’s face right now was his new favorite thing. 

“I’m really glad. Shall we?” He said motioning for her to sit down. They ate their meal watching the animals silhouetted by the sunset talking about their favorite and least favorite mentors at Firefox. When they couldn’t eat another bite, they leaned back against the tree holding hands and sitting in the most comfortable silence Grady had ever felt. 

When the sun finally set, Grady sighed and turned to Edaline. “As much as I hate to say it, I think we probably have to go. I don’t really know any of the people who work the night shift, and I’m not sure what they would say if they foundus.” Edaline looked disappointed but nodded. Her face was so close to his. He could barely make out the outline of her lips in the dim light. He had the incredibly strong urge to kiss her, but he held back. Did people kiss on the first date especially if it was casual? It took all his will power to turn from her and stand up so that he could clean up the remains of the picnic. When everything was packed up they experienced the first awkward moment of the date. They stood on the top of the hill neither of them knowing what to say or what to do next. 

“So I guess I’ll see you around. Maybe later this week?” Edaline finally spoke up pulling out her home key. 

“Yeah hopefully we can get the whole crew together next time and meet at the pub!” Grady was shocked to see Edaline looked a little hurt. Did she not want to see him again? Had he miss read the whole date. Then, a thought came to him. Maybe she didn’t want to hang out with the whole group. Maybe the date had gone as well as he was hoping, so he added.

“And maybe you and I could do something just the two of us before or after we meet up with everyone. If you want to of course. If you don’t want to, no big deal. I understand. It just felt like this went pretty well and it might be fun to go somewhere in town and hangout….” He trailed off feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. What was it about this girl that sent words spiraling out of his mouth? He was usually way more confident and collected than this. 

“I’d like that.” Edaline said simply still holding her home key. 

“Let me see you home.” Grady burst out. All of a sudden, he was aware that this date was coming to an end, and he wasn’t ready to leave her yet. He grabbed her hand holding the picnic basket in the other, and they light leapt to her front yard. 

“I had a really great time.” Edaline began as they slowly made their way to the door. “It’s going to be hard for you to top this date. Are you up to the challenge?” Grady could tell she was joking, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous. What if he had played all his cards too soon? He had planned this date because he knew she loved animals, but what if after another date she realized she was bored? He had asked her on this date because he thought nothing could be worse than seeing her every week wondering what it would be like to have her one on one. Now he knew, and he could tell that he was going to crave it like a drug. 

“You know I was joking right. Of course this date was amazing, and I’m going to brag about it to my friends but I’m ok with normal dates too. We could just grab some dinner or go hang out in Atlantis. I would be just as happy.” She paused and took a deep breath. Then with resolve in her eyes she said. “I just want to spend time with you.” 

Had she read his mind. He had felt that way all day. She seemed to know the exact thing to say before his emotions jumped off the deep end. “I feel the same way.” He said shyly and then they were at the front door. 

“So, I’ll talk to you later?” Edaline asked leaning against the door

“I’ll hail you tomorrow?” Grady asked hopefully and knew this was the right answer when she smiled.   
“Alright, I’ll see you later this week” 

“It’s a date.” They were standing so close together that Grady was feeling a little queasy. He really wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t want to move too quickly. He was planning on playing the long game so he could win her over and make this last. 

“Alright bye!” He said quickly, turning to go. As he stepped off the porch he heard Edaline sigh. 

“Bye.” She replied quietly. In that moment, he knew he couldn’t leave it like this. He turned quickly on the spot back to where she was standing and pulled her to him. His hands were on either side of her face, her skin unbelievably soft. We leaned down and began to kiss her and started to panic for a split second before she kissed him back. It was like he had fireworks going off in his mind. Grady had kissed girls before, but nothing had felt like this. So overwhelming, so exhilarating, but also peaceful. It just felt right. He wasn’t sure how long they kissed, but eventually Edaline pulled back very out of breath. He found that his head felt a little fuzzy and in need of oxygen. A little stunned, he just stared at her unsure of what to say. She was so beautiful it blinded him. Edaline just smiled at him and grabbed the door knob. 

“Goodnight, Grady. I'll talk to you soon.” And she slipped gracefully through the door. 

“Goodnight.” He called just as the door shut. Taking one more deep breath, he lept home unable to keep the giant smile off his face.


End file.
